Oklahoma State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes vs Arkansas-Pine Bluff
November 15, 2011 | Cowboy Basketball
Nov. 15, 2011
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Postgame Quotes
Oklahoma State vs Arkansas-Pine Bluff
First Round, Season NIT Tip-Off
Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011
OSU Head Coach Travis Ford
“It wasn't pretty, but it was good to come out with a win. We had some guys come off the bench that really energized our team. I think that was the difference for us. Phillip (Jurick), Markel (Brown) and Brian Williams, all three of those guys helped. We probably would have been down at halftime if it wasn't for those three. They all went in there and made plays. They didn't have the mentality of 'we're more talented and things are going to happen'. They made things happen. Sometimes you have to get in there and make positive plays happen. You can't just sit back and expect things to happen to you. There were a lot of negatives in the game between the turnovers early and we reverted back to taking bad shots, the free throws weren't good and this effort and execution will not work tomorrow night, no matter who we play."
“It doesn't matter who starts. All of our guys know everyone will have an opportunity to get in there. I am going to sub and all five starters will be coming out at some point because they need to rest. If you're playing well you'll stay in there. There is no individual on this team who has shown me they have to be in there.”
“Brian (Williams) doesn't lack in confidence. He's going to keep shooting. Brian likes to shoot. Sometimes he can't get hot. We know he's going to play hard and do all those things. He is very athletic and he usually uses that athleticism to rebound for us. I thought he did a great job in the low-post defense. Where they were hurting us in the game, he went in and put a stop to it.”
OSU redshirt freshman guard/forward Brian Williams
On his performance off the bench
"Yeah, man, it's kind of an 'about time' thing for me, because I didn't play too well the first two games, so I'm excited that I'm finally getting into the flow of things."
On the slow start
"We were never too worried about losing, we (were) just wondering when we were going to start playing well so we could get this game out of the way."
OSU sophomore guard Markel Brown
On how the team played
"I think we started of slow. Some guys off the bench, us three (Williams, Brown, Jurick), came in, brought the team energy, and we went uphill from there."
On rotation and depth
"We've got deep players on the bench. It's kind of good to have ... starters sitting on the bench so they can bring in a spark for the rest of the guys."
On where the defense is early this season
"We'll find out tomorrow where our defense is playing against either Oral Roberts or UT-San Antonio. Going in, they've got some very talented players. We heard they have a better offense, so we'll find out where the defense is."
On rebounding
"Yeah, it's fun getting rebounds, jumping over guys. Coach (is) trying to make me more of a rebounder. Help these guys like Phil (Jurick),Brian (Williams), and Le'Bryan (Nash) all on the glass. So when I get the rebound, I can get it and push it up, start a fast break."
OSU junior center Philip Jurick
On rotation
"We're a very unselfish team, and (I don't think) it matters to us who starts. Most teams get hyped up who starts and who doesn't, but with us, I think we just worry about who finishes the game and who wins."
On his performance
"I'm just getting adjusted to playing at the division one level. It's a lot different than JUCO ... just getting up and down the floor and just doing what I can."
UAPB Head Coach George Ivory
On his thoughts of the game
"I thought we started off pretty good. We kind of hit a drought at the end of the second half. We gave them a couple runs that were like 8-0 and 12-0. You can't do that against a real good basketball team."
On OSU's bench
"The bench played great. When you have a real good basketball team like they have, and good talent, you have to guard everybody. We put more effort into guarding the starters than we did guarding the guys coming off the bench, which we told them, when we're playing a team like this, all of them can play."
On foul trouble
"If you don't match the intensity and slide your feet and get out and move, you're going to get into some foul trouble."
UAPB senior guard Savalance Townsend
On the first game of the season
"I really didn't have any first-game jitters. Everybody was just coming out here and playing a top non-conference opponent to open the year. I guess it was another learning experience this year trying to open against teams like that one and compete and win."
On what the team will focus on improving Wednesday
"Defense. We want to put a little more pressure on defenders and running and executing our stuff. We had one pass and shot and no offensive rebounds. We weren't playing with any intensity, we weren't attacking the goal. We just have to turn it all the way around, 360 degrees on the intensity."
